NEW DELHI, May 20 – In the wake of controversy over spot-fixing in Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, India’s Sports Ministry has begun consultations with the Law Ministry to draft a new law to deal with sports betting.
Law Minister Kapil Sibal (photo) told Press Trust of India (PTI) he had spoken to Sports Minister Jitendra Singh with a view to drafting a new law soon to deal with sports betting.
“People’s confidence in sports is shattered when such controversies erupt. While people think whatever is happening in the field is in the interest of the game, facts turn out to be otherwise,” he said.
The IPL was dealt a massive blow last Thursday when Delhi police arrested pacer S Sreesanth and his Rajasthan Royals teammates, Ajit Chandila and Ankeet Chavan, for allegedly indulging in spot-fixing in at least three matches according to arrangements with bookies suspected to have underworld connections abroad.
Police on Sunday arrested three others in the spot-fixing scandal including a former Ranji player. Delhi police have requested hotels in the cities of Mumbai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad to provide CCTV footage to scan meetings of the detained cricketers with bookies in connection with the spot-fixing case. Police will also collect voice samples of the players.
-BERNAMA
